Starting Out in 2008

Our house, with a vibrant sunset tinted by Canadian forest fires.

Well, Dan and I have moved out to a lovely country house in Zumbrota! It came with a fenced paddock in the backyard, which the landlord was keeping sled dogs in. It seemed like just the perfect place for a garden as it will deter the more lethargic deer and rabbits. Although it was so late in the year, mom and I have had good luck starting late gardens. From a weed ecology perspective it's a good idea, because all of the early weeds have done their thing by the time you start. Also, you're past the danger of late frosts.

This year has been strange for weather. The spring was very long and wet--planting was delayed all across the Midwest and then we were hit by relentless rain leading to flooding. That, plus a few hailstorms, means that most gardens and all the crops have been delayed. I even picked and canned strawberries on July 4th! In most years they would be long over by then.

So far I've bought many started plants from the garden mart at the grocery store. Another benefit to late planting is that the starts are dirt cheap! Only $0.25 apiece for vegetables (but the herbs were more dear at $3 each). Getting the garden started was more costly than I'd hoped, but as I've learned in the past, you can't truly do it to save money unless you're comparing the costs to buying upscale organic produce. Also, there are more costs the first year. Here's the breakdown of the annual expenses:

$25 + 5 - having the neighbor till the garden + 2 straw bales
$30 - herbs and vegetable starts
$75 - seeds from Johnny Seeds (yikes!)
$25 - 6 40-lb. bags of composted manure

The garden, freshly tilled. It's in a handy, fenced paddock. The barrels in the background are the doghouses from the landlord's sled dogs.

I also got some wonderful gardening tools from Lehman's. My favorites so far are the ass-kicking Wilcox gardening tools. Each one is made from a solid piece of stainless steel, so there's nothing to break, and I've broken more trowels and dibbles than I can count. The craftsmanship is excellent and they're even marked to measure planting depth. The customer service lady I talked to just raved about them--she's been gardening for 40 years and she says the only tools she needs is a Wilcox trowel, a pair of snipers, and a new pair of gloves each year.

I also got the metal watering can I've always dreamed of, a large spade, a couple of pairs of gloves, and a heavy-duty rake.

The neighbor, a farmer himself, did a great job of tilling the garden. The soil seemed so compacted I was worried, but he fluffed it up really well and made it perfectly level. Then (after dodging a few nasty storms) I dug it into raised mounds. They're about 25' long and about 3' wide and about 1' above the walkways.

The mounds, mostly finished and planted with solanaceae.

I got enough manure for one 40-lb. bag per row (or maybe a little extra, depending on if I plant all the rows). I'm not sure if this is enough, so I might add synthetic fertilizers. Since it's the first year, I have no idea of the underlying fertility of the soil and this may be a good bet, especially for the tomatoes (those greedy bastards!).

So far the main limitation has been working around the shady areas. There are a lot of trees here, so I'll probably have to go with some irregularly shaped plantings to avoid the dark spots. I think that since I'm planting so late and the days are getting shorter, finding enough sunlight will be essential.

At this point I think the only other thing I need is an extension to the hose and one of those gentle shower head type attachments. I've been doing pretty well with the watering can, but once the whole garden is planted it will be really time consuming to water the whole thing. The landlord left a sprinkler here, as well.

I also want to get some garlic to plant in the fall, but it is outrageously expensive. Gardening books warn you off of using what you find at the grocery store, but when the option is spending $12-21 for only 3 bulbs from a fancy catalog, I may take my chances with the grocery garlic. Next: planting!